GTD: The Calendar and Time Planning

[jasmithoffice]

Hi everyone - I would like to get clarification on the calendar in the GTD system. I understand the calendar in GTD to hold only those items that have day or day and time specific importance. I have read that GTD is not time management, and from what I've read it sounds like you plan your time not so much in a schedule but in a loose fashion where when you have some free time you check your categorized (context) action item lists and see what you might be able to accomplish in this moment of free time.

So, when I have an assignment due say next Friday it will of course be an action item. So, if I did a weekly review today I would see that I have that assignment due next Friday so when Monday rolls around that assignment is in my head, so to speak. As I progress through the week and monitor my action items as I get free time I see that I have now a long enough block of time that I should get this assignment done.

Am I on the right track thinking about how to use the system?

Thanks,
Jason

 

[unstuffed]

I understand the calendar in GTD to hold only those items that have day or day and time specific importance.

Yes indeedy. Only appointments, things you can only do on that day, reminders, etc.

I have read that GTD is not time management, and from what I've read it sounds like you plan your time not so much in a schedule but in a loose fashion where when you have some free time you check your categorized (context) action item lists and see what you might be able to accomplish in this moment of free time.

Yes once again.

So, when I have an assignment due say next Friday it will of course be an action item.

Whoopsie! This is a big no: the assignment is a project. The single next action is an action item. You can't 'do' an assignment, you can only do the action steps involved in completing an assignment. Things like:
- create named document and save to appropriate directory for that subject;
- collect notes taken from readings and sort into piles according to which part of the argument they belong to;
- brainstorm basic structure of assignment;
- type out all ideas into document;
- rearrange into logical structure;
- add in logical or informational connective text;
- edit for consistency;
- edit for grammar/spelling;
- type in intro;
- type in summary;
and so on and so forth.

So, if I did a weekly review today I would see that I have that assignment due next Friday so when Monday rolls around that assignment is in my head, so to speak.

It should also be in your project list, and have various bits of it on your action lists.

As I progress through the week and monitor my action items as I get free time I see that I have now a long enough block of time that I should get this assignment done.

Am I on the right track thinking about how to use the system?

You've got a misconception about the action lists. There are several reasons for making your Next Actions the most concrete, defined, simple step possible to move the project forwards:

1) It helps conquer procrastination. If you look at something that tells you to "do assignment", you may want to go and hide under the bedcovers and not come out, whereas something that tells you to "create and save document" is not at all scary.

2) It's something that you can do, right now, with the equipment you've got. A lot of the reason for us putting things off is because we forget about all the mundane stuff that has to happen before the goal is achieved.

3) It's a lot easier to find a 10-minute window of time than to find a 6-hour window of time. Hence the tiny steps are much more likely to get done, and the project progresses continuously, instead of waiting for the one large block of time that will allow you to go from go to whoa.

Hope that helps.

 

[jasmithoffice]

Thank you for the reply. You did help to clarify things a bit. I guess I never stopped to break down an assignment into the steps it actually takes to complete it.

Thanks,
Jason